-Birth
of Emmanuel:.Matthew
1:16-25; Luke 1:26-38; 2:11.
Emmanuel's
birth by the virgin Mary. Why
was He born?
The
angel Gabriel's announcement to Mary of Emmanuel's birth:.Luke
1:5-25.
The wise men come to baby
Emmanuel:.Matthew
2:9-11.
A strong case has been making
the rounds for the past 18 years putting the birth of Christ in late summer
of B.C.E. 3.
Ernest Martin, in his book,
The
Star That Astonished The World.(ASK
Publications, Portland, OR, 1996).presents
a well researched and argued case for this from astronomy and recent finds
supporting the later date for the death of Herod.
As a result, the Griffith
Observatory in Los Angeles.(griffithobs.org)
and many other planetariums no longer
use the B.C.E. 4 constellations in their Christmas shows, but highlight
the August/September B.C.E. 3 birth constellations and the December B.C.E.
2 skies, showing the "star of Bethlehem".
Emmanuel's Life:
Emmanuel
is the Greek form of the Hebrew name Joshua. To distinguish him from others
so called, he is spoken of as "Emmanuel of Nazareth".(John
18:7).and
"Emmanuel the son of Joseph":.John
6:42.
The life of Emmanuel on Earth
may be divided into two great periods,.1).that
of his private life, till he was about thirty years of age and 2) that
of his public life, which lasted about three years.
He was born of a virgin named
Mary
at Bethlehem.(Matthew
2:1,2), in the reign of the emperor
Augustus.
Mary was betrothed
to Joseph, a carpenter:.Matthew
1:1; Luke 3:23; compare with John
7:42. His birth was announced to the shepherds:.Luke
2:8-20.
Wise men from the east came
to Bethlehem to see him who was born."King
of the Jews".bringing
gifts with them:.Matthew
2:1-12.
We can only speculate
that the gifts included an invite to gain the wisdom of the famed, since
Solomon's time.(1Kings
4:29-31), learned men of the East.
Eighteen years pass in the
life of Emmanuel since He was twelve.(Luke
2:42-47), of which we have no record and then he returns to Nazareth
and "increased in wisdom and stature and in
favor with God and man":.Luke
2:52.
During these 18 years of
which we have no record, Emmanuel probably did two things, one being helping
his dad in carpentry and going on a trek
to the East from where the magi.(Matthew
2:1,2).came
from to see Him soon after He was born. Now Emmanuel had grown up with
their wisdom in the form of gifts, which no doubt included books of wisdom
and was heading to see them to share the wisdom of God He had learned and
to see and to show how it all fit together.
Herod's cruel jealousy led
to Joseph's flight into Egypt with Mary and the infant Emmanuel, where
they tarried till the death of this king.(Matthew
2:13-23), when they returned and settled in Nazareth, in Lower Galilee.(verse
23; compare Luke 4:16; John
1:46). At the age of twelve years he went up to Jerusalem to the Passover
with his parents. There, in the temple."in
the midst of the doctors".all
that heard him were."astonished
at his understanding and answers":.Luke
2:41.
He entered on his public
ministry when he was about thirty years of age. It is generally reckoned
to have extended to about three years.."Each
of these years had peculiar features of its own. 1) The first year may
be called the year of obscurity, both because the records of it which we
possess are very scanty and because he seems during it to have been only
slowly emerging into public notice. It was spent for the most part in Judea.
2) The second year was the year of public favor, during which the country
had become thoroughly aware of him; his activity was incessant and his
frame rang through the length and breadth of the land. It was almost wholly
passed in Galilee. 3) The third was the year of opposition, when the public
favor ebbed away. His enemies multiplied and assailed him with more and
more pertinacity and at last he fell a victim to their hatred. The first
six months of this final year were passed in Galilee and the last six in
other parts of the land."....Stalker's,
Life of Emmanuel the Christ, page 45.
The only reliable sources
of information regarding the life of Christ on Earth are
the
Gospels, which present in historical detail the words and the work
of Christ in so many different aspects.
